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eee = aoe = a oe me 5 aD a5 Sa ed DEVOTED TO THE LAKE MARINE AND KINDRED INTERESTS. Published every Thursday at No. 516 Perry-Payne building, Cleveland, O SUBSCRIPTION--$2.00 per year in advance. Singlecopies Io cents each. Convenient binders sent, post paid, 75 cents. Advertising rates on appli- cation. Entered at Cleveland Post Office as Second-class Matl Matter. Lake Freight Matters. It is absolutely certain now that two or three well known vessel owners entered into a deal several days ago whereby about 200,000 tons of ore was covered at $1 for next year. There is no more business of this kind being done, however, and it is not probable that additional contracts at any price will be made for some time to come, as there is less talk now of ore sales for next year than there was two weeks ago. Vessel owners agree that a final settlement of matters in the iron business may result in the contract freight rate being established at $1, but they have little fear of the rate going below that figure, and on this account they prefer wait- ing. Excitement in the iron market has been somewhat allayed during the past ten days, and the situation is not as strong as it has been, although there is no fear of any great slump in the demand for iron, which seems certain to hold out well for two or three years. A halt in the market was caused in part by arrangements made by eastern furnaces for the importation of about 100,000 tons of foreign ore for the manufacture of pig iron offered forsale in Pittsburgh. Since the matter has been sifted down, however, the danger of foreign ore is not considered serious. All of the eastern furnace managers have been figuring on the foreign raw material, but they are confronted by high freights and other dis- advantageous conditions, and they find that they can not jump into the foreign markets and draw upon them immediately, when for years the foreign producers have been settled down toa business in which the American demand was of little consideration. As a result of the general tendency towards a settlement of condi- tions inthe iron trade, an immediate effect is noticable in the lake freight market. The principal ore companies have for a week past re- fused to pay more than $1.25 on ore from the head of Lake Superior, with Marquette at $1.10 and Escanaba at 85 cents. The supply of vessels tak- ing coal on account of fall weather coming on has also increased, and with a disposition among coal shippers to avoid anything like a surplus of supplies, the rate on soft coal to the head of Lake Superior has dropped back to 85 cents with Lake Michigan ports paying 60 and 65 cents. Two New Whalebacks--Other Contracts. Capt. McDougall met with other officers of the American Steel Barge Co. in Cleveland, Wednesday, and it was decided to begin work immed- iately at the West Superior ship yard on a whaleback steamer of 380 feet keel and aconsort of 360 feet keel. Some of the officials of the barge company have been opposed to building, but it was finally decided that the condition of business is such that at least one new tow may be added to the company's fleet, and at the same time leave room enough at the ship yard for any outside contracts that may be secured. It is also quite probable that the steamer Colby and three barges, which have been in service on the coast for two or three years past, will -be brought to the lakes next spring. Negotiations leading up to the arrangement of finances for the con- struction of a very largesteel freight steamer are still under way at Detroit and the announcement of a contract from the Detroit Dry Dock Co. for this vessel may be expected almost any time. It is proposed in Detroit to build this steamer on the system of partcash and part bonds. The dry dock company on Wednesday closed a contract for a steel steamer for the lumber trade but details regarding the vessel have not as yet been given out. The Siberian car ferry project has not been closed up as yet, and it is understood that there is some doubt of this important contract being secured, on account of complications regarding various matters pertain- ing to the construction of the vessels, but it will probably be a month or more before the matter is decided. Preparations are being made by the Langell & Sons' Co., St. Clair, Mich., for the construction, during the winter, of a steamer of about 2,000 tons capacity. Capt. James Davidson of West Bay City is quoted as say- ing that he will build six wooden boats of the largest capacity, but this is not positive, as his building operations will undoubtedly. depend largely upon whatever success he may have in selling some of the wooden vessels which he now has on hand. 'The big ship-owning firms will not give any consideration to the purchase of a wooden vessel, and outsiders '0 MARINE REVIEW. have not now the opportunities to make money with such a vessel that they had a few years ago. Promoters of the Cleveland steel canal boat enterprise are engaged in financing the project for constructing twenty-four additional barges for the service between Cleveland and New York. Probably $200,000 will be required for the building of these vessels, if the plan of sacrificing cargo space almost entirely in the steam vessels is carried out, so as to give them additional power to permit of fast towing. : James McBrier of Hrie, who was figuring on the construction ofa steel tow barge, has about given up his plans, on account of high prices of material. He is of the opinion that with a reduction 'from the present very high price of material, $15,000 or more may be saved in a tow barge a year hence, and he figures that this additional cost with other condi- tions will not warrant immediate building. see Murphy & Miller, Cleveland, O., will build at their river bed ship yard, a 60-foot schooner yacht for Lewis Cowles. She will have a 20-ton lead keel and is expected to be fast. Around the Lakes. Registered tonnage of the steamer Zenith City is 3,750.49 gross and 3,429.06 net, and her official number is 28,129. Officers of the Lake Carriers' Association are advised that ore trim- mers at Escanaba are talkin g of another strike unless the rate of trim- ming is advanced 1 cent a ton shortly, but there is no disposition to take action of any kind in the matter. Capt. James S. Killeran, who is one of the first officials under John Gordon to leave the Northern Steamship Co., will probably go to the Lehigh Valley line. It is said that he will be succeeded by Capt. Wesley Brown, who was in the North West this season. Deputy Minister Smith of the Canadian marine department suggests that if any lake véssel master falls in with the sunken wreck or shoal §. EK. by S:5% miles from Point Pelee light-house, Lake Erie, he will be rendering the department great assistance if he will drop a buoy on the spot. About 250 tons of material is used in the design of car dumping machine which the Brown Hoisting and Conveying Co. is constructing for the lake coal trade. Work is well advanced on the first of these machines at Ashtabula, but long delays have been encountered on account of material being scarce. The fact that the big passenger steamer North West made the passage easterly through Portage Lake canals, a few days ago, instead of going round Keweenaw point, is proof of the claim made some time ago by the engineers, that any vessel going through the St. Mary's Falls canals can pass the Portage canals also. The 400-foot steamer Zenith City's cargo of 138,000 bushels of wheat, taken from Duluth to Buffalo on 14 feet 4 inches draft, is the largest cargo of grain ever moved from Lake Superior, but it does not amount in gross tons to as much as the first ore cargoes of the schooner Aurania and steamer Victory, which were 3,928 and 3,689 gross tons, respectively, on about the same draft. _._ The Montague Iron Works, Montague, Mich., will build the new engines that are to be put into the Graham & Morton steamer City of Louisville. They will be fore-and-aft compound, with cylinders 20 and 40 inches by 30 inches stroke. The Montague works will also rebuild the engines now in the City of Louisville for the Graham & Morton tug to be. built by E. W. Heath of Benton Harbor, Mich. Four small schooners, the insurance on which did not amount in the aggregate to more than $50,000, constitute the total losses in the gale of last week, so that thus far the underwriters have not a great deal to com- plain about, and fortunately there was no loss of life. The lost vessels are the C. H. Johnson, Queen City, A. W. Comstock and KE. R. Williams. With high freights this fall it is probable, however, that all vessels will be kept in commission very late in the season, and the risks that will be taken may result in more losses than would occur if tempting freights were not offered. Letters at Detroit Marine Post Office. Postmaster John J. Enright of Detroit furnishes the following list of names to which letters uncalled for at the marine post office are addressed: Bain, Hugh A. Johnson. Capt. Fred Bell; Capt. John Plumb, Miss W. L. Brooks, Thomas J. 2 Radloff, Fred J-. Clark, Capt. Thomas FE. Shock, Philip H. Elliot, Capt. A. M. Weaver, T. J. 2 Mrs. Annie Devere. Lahart Wick. Jackson, Capt. M. Wellock, Richard. Reduced rates to Chicago are offered by the Nickel Plate road on the certificate plan, account National Paint, Oil and Varnish Association con- vention, Oct. 8to12. Ask agents for particulars. 426-10